First Blood
by VintageLyre
Summary: A man, on his own, fears the looming horror that death would bring to him. Afraid of the unknown and his life coming to an end, he searches for a way to live on, begging any being he can. Time period: c. 700 AD
1. First Blood

**So this is a piece that I had outlined a year ago but never got the chance to work on it. I ended up using it as my short story for my Creative Writing class, and my teacher really liked it, so I hope all of you will as well. I'm very proud of it, and very pleased with the end result. There will be an epilogue to this, which I am writing for my final project portion of my portfolio for the class. Enjoy!**

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A dark haired man stumbled into the church at Canterbury, the sun setting behind him. The cathedral was dark, the candles just being lit by a priest, the windows letting in little light. The priest watched as the young man walked slowly to the alter by the front of the church and fell to his knees.

He raised his head skyward and closed his eyes, lifting his arms as if to offer himself. "Oh Great Lord in Heaven," he prayed, "there is a possibility that I may soon be dead. I beg of you, do not let it happen." He took in a shaky breath.

"Please," he pleaded, "I am still too young, only twenty three years, as I have counted. I am not ready for death."

"Death," echoed a voice, "comes to all. There is nothing in my power that I can do to halt it."

"But there is!" the man urged, his eyes opening quickly in earnest, clear blue eyes shining in the dark. "You are the almighty God, father of Jesus." He paused. "You could grant me immortality. You could grant me the gift of living without fear."

"You do not know what you ask," God replied. "Death is a part of life. Without it, the world would cease to be balanced. It would not be right."

"But my Lord…" the man began to protest.

"No more! Immortality is for no man to hold. This is the end of it. Do not ask again for my word is law," God finished, his presence fading from the church.

The man stood up, still looking to the sky. "Then you have abandoned me!" he shouted. "You are no father to any of us," the man finished in a whisper.

He ran from the church and took to the woods, tripping over fallen branches. Once more, he fell to his knees, but this time it was out of despair, not piety. If there was any other being, he prayed to them, begging to be granted immortality.

Suddenly, the cool woods disappeared and were replaced with the feeling of burning hot fire. The man's head snapped up as he took in the scene before him. It looked as if the entire forest had been set ablaze, the flames consuming everything while smoke filled the sky, creating a thick cloud of gray and black.

A man clad in black stepped through the flames as though it were nothing, brushing himself off. His keen eyes, orange as the fire surrounding him, took in the man on his knees before him.

"Who are you?" murmured the kneeling man.

"I am here to answer yours prayers," replied the man in black. "My name is Lucifer, though most often call me the Devil." Lucifer smiled, revealing two rows of white teeth, some more pointed than others.

The man stumbled back in shock, looking to Lucifer with wide eyes, fear flashing in them. He did not know what to make of the Devil's appearance, nor how to respond. Neither the Devil nor God has visited any man for centuries.

Lucifer studied the man, his grin broadening. "Why do you back away in fear? Did you not pray to be granted immortal life?" He looked towards the sky. "Yes, the almighty Lord God did not grant it to you, but I can."

"C-could you do th-that?" the man stuttered out nervously.

Lucifer smiled, a glint in his eyes. "As I said before, I can…and I will."

"But for what reason?"

"You begged and pleaded for it. You were rejected by your God. Who else is left to grant such a thing but myself?" Lucifer shrugged. "But of course, if your mind has changed its desire, I shall trouble you no more."

Lucifer turned as if to walk away. "Wait!" the man cried. "My desire is still the same as it was before."

The Devil smiled maliciously before wiping the look of his face and replacing it with a small smile, turning back to the man. He nodded and walked closer as the man stood and came to meet him half way. The man stood and looked at the Devil, vaguely wondering how he could have ever been an angel.

"Arran Aedan Cadogan, I will grant you the…_gift_ of immortal life. You will never die. The Gates of Saint Peter will never see your face. You will never have the need to worry about catching any sickness. In your _new_," Lucifer's smile widened," life, you will have very few worries." Lucifer paused and held out his hand. "Do you agree to all that has been said?"

Arran paused, knowing that it was not the wisest choice to make a deal with the Devil, but what other choice did he have? Warily, he took Lucifer's hand in his own signifying his assent. He felt the severe heat in the Devil's skin, before pulling his hand away. He waited for the Lord of Hell to say more, and he was not disappointed.

"Now that we have made a pact, you need to take in a small portion of my blood," Lucifer told him.

Arran looked at him in shock. "You did not tell me I would have to do such a thing."

"You did not ask."

"I will not. I can not."

"You made a pact," Lucifer began, anger entering his tone, "and you can not walk away now." He smiled, knowing just the right strings to pull. "If you do, you will die within the next day."

Resigned to the mistake he had made, Arran nodded solemnly and silently begged all those he knew to forgive him for being such a fool. He walked to the arm that Lucifer held out to him, and watched in grotesque fascination as the Devil cut through his own skin with a blade, the drops of blood glistening as they dripped from the wound. He brought his lips to the wound slowly, revolted by the act he was committing. As the blood entered his mouth, he wished to spit it back out, but knew Lucifer would not let him do so. However, as he continued to drink, the taste became sweet and addictive, flowing down his throat like a soothing drink after going without water for a day.

Finally, Lucifer took his arm away and told Arran to stop, smiling in satisfaction. As Arran looked up, his eyes looked fevered and distant. He clutched his middle, feeling a burning pain coursing through him. He fell to the ground, bowing over himself for countless moments, before feeling the pain dissipate. Arran stood slowly and looked to the Devil in confusion.

"That was your change," Lucifer told him.

"Change?" Arran questioned. "Change into what?"

The Devil smiled maliciously. "Into a new creature…a vampire." Arran's confusion masked his face, which the Dark Lord noticed. "A creature of the night who does not need food for survival, but rather a different substance."

"What would it be?" he asked Lucifer.

"Blood."

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**So what did all of you think? I don't feel the ending is sudden or rushed, but do any of you? I had asked my sister and she really liked the way it ended, the ringing finality of what he had become. So survey says?**

**The epilogue should be out within the next few days. I need it written for tomorrow because I want to hand in my portfolio tomorrow.**

**If any of you are wondering about other works, I do have a blog that I have _just_ created. **_www. addiej. blogspot. com_** I hope you check it out. I will be working on numerous things over the summer, and hopefully I can get my very own vampire novel started. Cheers!**


	2. Second Blood

**As promised, here is the second part to First Blood, but it is the epilogue. It does have it's own seperate title for specific reasons. I wonder if anyone will get it. I know my thought process is a little off and much different to others'. I hope you enjoy.**

**Once more I reiterate that my blog is now up and running. I will not be posting author's notes anymore. All of my updates and information will be on my blog: (www. addiej. blogspot. com). So if you want information on anything I'm currently working on, or anything that may be coming soon, I suggest you look there.**

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Through the years, Arran traveled alone, unable to stand the light of the sun, unable to make ties with the human race. There was no set home for him, no wife to warm his bed, no children to bring joy to his dreary existence. For eternity, he would be cursed to suffer alone and bear the burden which he had brought upon himself.

When he had changed into his new form, his appearance changed as well, marking him for what he was. His already fair skin had taken on a very pale shade, his blue eyes turned to a deep crimson color, revealing the death within him. The only way for him to feel as if life flowed within his body was to take the lives of others.

He remembered clearly the day he sold his soul, quite literally, to the Lord of Hell. It would forever be burned into his memories, never able to forget his terrible sin, and all those that followed after. He was a man made from sin, and therefore destined to forever remain drowning in it. He could never reach the surface. As Arran sat in the night, taking in all of the details, his mind flashed, without warning or permission, to the terrible day of his greatest betrayal.

_"Blood?" Arran asked in disgust, yet he could still feel the taste of Lucifer's dark blood on his tongue, craving more._

_"Do not pretend that you are innocent of the want," Lucifer told him. "I know what you truly desire." He smiled, yet his eyes remained cold._

_"This is not what I asked for."_

_"Oh but it is," whispered the Dark King, "it is. You begged for immortality, but you did not clarify as to how you wished for it to be granted. That was your mistake, and yours alone."_

_"I was not aware…"_

_Lucifer cut him off, malevolent laughter making its way passed his lips. "You should have been. You knew of me and my reputation when you made the pact. It is not my fault that you were a fool, too blinded by your fear of death to truly think about what you were doing."_

_"You knew I would agree, that is why you made a deal with me. You've gained something."_

_A sneer made its way onto Lucifer's face. "Of course. I wouldn't have come to answer your prayers if I could not benefit from it in any way."_

_Arran bowed his head in defeat, knowing that the Devil had bested him, as he had so many others. "What does my new state entail?" he asked quietly._

_The Dark Lord smiled in satisfaction. "Good, you now know your place." He paused a moment to savor his victory before continuing. "You are now what people fear most, the dark creature that haunts their dreams. You are a demon, and no human would want you for what you have become. Nor can you form any relationships, unless you are going to drain them of their life._

_"Your soul is mine to keep, mine to command. I am your lord and master" He smiled. "I will own your soul, of course, but it will still reside in your body."_

_"For what purpose, my lord?" Arran questioned, the thought of having a master making his anger flare, the taste of the title vile on his tongue. However, he knew that Lucifer was right and did not wish to anger him. There were worst things he could do._

_"I am happy to see that you are learning quickly." Lucifer's smiled widened, the pleasure at Arran's discomfort mounting at his next words. "You are to keep your soul with you so that you may suffer and feel the guilt of what you have done and will come to do. Heaven does not want you, Hell can not have you, so you are to have your own personal Hell on earth."_

_Arran's eyes widened in shock and pain at his new master's words. He should have known that there would be some sort of consequence to his actions, there always were, especially when dealing with the Devil. He shook his head. He could not undo what was done, only live with it and try to come to terms with his rash decision. Perhaps in time, he would find a way to ignore his soul so that he could live in some sort of peace._

He let his head fall into his hands, his fingers raking through his hair, as the memory dissipated. Six centuries had passed since he was changed into a vampire, granted with the _curse_ of his immortal life. If he had known what he would endure as an immortal, or the creature he would become, he would have turned from the Devil and fled, never to ask the question again.

Arran looked to the night sky, watching the stars. He had been walking the earth for so long. In that time, he had discovered that he could make more of his kind, in the same way that Lucifer had made him, but with a small difference. He would need to bite the human and drain them to a point where they were so very near death, their breathing labored, hearts speeding and then slowing to a rhythm he could dance to. Then would come the time when he would cut through his own skin and feed his own blood to the dying human.

As his had been, their changing would be a painful experience, and he would sit and watch in fascination. Some he had made for companionship but came to find that he could not bare to be around them. The majority of those he had changed came to ignore their conscience, or seemingly lose it all together. He noticed that over the ages, it seemed as if each newly changed vampire would have less and less of their soul in tact, until there were those who walked the land without any soul at all: true demons of the night.

However, Arran was not like them in some respects. Unlike the lesser vampires, he could never lose his soul, for it was his curse, part of the bargain he had struck with the Devil. He tried to ignore his conscience, especially when he was sustaining himself, but after some time it would come back with a vengeance and cause him pain for days on end. He wished to be cold and distant, for it was in the nature of a vampire to kill and feed, but his soul would not allow it. It would torture him for all of the murders he had committed, families torn apart, as well as for making for creatures like him out of the selfish desire to no longer be alone.

He was their king, the first of the vampires, ancestor to them all. He was the only _true_ immortal out of all of them because he could never die. There was nothing in the world that could end his existence, and at times, he lamented that he would never pass on. He had remained for centuries, watching _his_ people as well as the humans. Arran had seen numerous empires rise and fall, multiple kings come to power through war and betrayal. He had seen the times change from one fashion to the next as the humans thought of new ideas and inventions.

The art varied depending on each time period, as it always had, that much was unchanged. Through all that he had seen, he remained silent and hidden in the shadows. He was not in hiding, yet he was not in plain sight either. It was the way he wished it to be, as every vampire did. There was no use drawing attention to what they were.

Arran knew that as the new and old vampires were changed and then killed, all amongst themselves, that he would remain forever. There was nothing he could do to change that fact. The bargain struck with Lucifer was binding, and would never change. Arran too would never change. For the rest of eternity he would remain a young man, twenty three years of age, who would remain a creature of darkness, created from the blood of Lucifer himself.

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**And that marks the end of First Blood! I hope you all liked it. Was the ending all right? It seems off to me. I had originally written one I really liked, and I was so close to the end when my lap top decided to close my word document. When I brought Word back up, and clicked on the previously saved document to recover, it deleted it instead of opening it. I was so angry. I was so pleased with what I had written before, that when I wrote this it didn't seem right. So I don't know. What do you all think?**

**I'd like to thank those for reading and reviewing, namely _Shikiangel CerEbow_, _AngelSoldier 666_, and _keyword paramore_ for reviewing the first chapter and main part of the story. Thank you so much.**


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